


Hold on! It's gonna get messy!

by lulat



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Exhaustion, Fainting, Five Whump, One Shot, The White Violin - Freeform, Training
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:22:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25036945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lulat/pseuds/lulat
Summary: The jump to the past is a reminder for Five of the one lesson from Reginald Hargreaves' that stuck with him.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 340





	Hold on! It's gonna get messy!

Five took a deep breath. Gripped Diego and Allison’s hands tighter. 

It’s a jump - he told himself - It’s a jump like any other.

The sky above them exploded in blinding white light as the portal opened. He could do this - he’d done it once before. 

“It’s working!” Luther yelled.

Everything around them was bathed in blinding light but Five was aware that beyond that the sky was burning, the ground under their feet was disintegrating... 

He needed to do this now. It was a choice between jumping to the past or die trying. 

“Hold on! it’s gonna get messy!” Five shouted. 

There wasn’t much time. He could see all of his siblings regressing before his eyes - getting younger and younger and younger…He needed to take them all. 

He couldn’t leave anyone behind.

Five screamed. Closed his eyes. Prayed.

And jumped. 

***

Five was wearing gym clothes. He was 13 years old and standing in the middle of the library in the Hargreaves mansion. His father and Pogo were standing in front of him. 

“Number 5. You understand your task for this morning.”

It wasn’t a question. The task was quite self explanatory. 

A track had been marked out around the room with 4 posts marked in each corner of the room. There were 4 jumps he had to make - each jump requiring him to land precisely on one of the marks. Five was to follow this route until he was told to stop.

“According to my calculations you should be able to sustain this route for at least 5 hours.” Hargreaves said, wrinkling his nose at the notes on his chart in front of him. “I expect you to hit an average time per track of 6.76 seconds.” 

Five nodded. He could do this. He had done short range jumps before. He could do them in his sleep. This would be fine.

“On my mark.” 

Five took a deep breath. Hargreaves nodded to Pogo who clicked START on the stopwatch.

“And go!”

Five felt the familiar hush as he de-materialised and reappeared with a faint popping sound at the other end of the room. Right on his first mark.

Another day at the Umbrella Academy. 

***

*Pop*

Five took a rough haggard gasp of air as he re-materialised. Sweat had plastered his hair to his face. He felt clammy. And weak. 

*Pop*

He was at another corner of that damned room. This must be what hell felt like. 

He took another deep breath.

*Pop*

He couldn’t get enough air into his lungs. It was like inhaling carbon dioxide. 

*Pop*

Five stumbled on his mark. The squeak of his sneakers trying to find traction, nearly sending him flying. The stumble cost him a second. 

This did not go unnoticed. 

*Pop*

“Don’t lose concentration Number 5!”

*Pop*

Five took a gasp of air. 

*Pop*

God, he was far too hot. He needed to say something. 

*Pop*

“I-I think…”

*Pop*

His head was spinning. 

“...I need to…”

*Pop*

“...rest!”

Hargreaves bristled in irritation. 

“Rest!” Hargreaves glanced at the stopwatch Pogo was holding. “You are only 3 hours and 45 minutes into this exercise.”

*Pop*

“P-Please.”

*Pop*

“I...”

*Pop*

“Need...”

*Pop*

“To….”

*Pop*

“...Stop.”

“Number 5, you will stop only when instructed to.” 

Five’s legs felt like jelly. The next time he re-materialised he stumbled again and nearly fell. 

“Please!”

The gasp of air he took before he next disappeared did nothing to help him. His vision was clouded with black spots when he reappeared. 

“I can’t keep going!” 

“Yes you can!”

Five heard Pogo clear his throat. 

“Sir. Pardon the intrusion but I do feel-

“Pogo, I will decide when my students cease their training.”

*Pop*

Five missed his mark completely and crashed into one of the bookshelves sending a stack of novels onto the floor. 

“Do not stop!”

*Pop*

Five couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. Everything felt far too loud and far too close. 

*Pop*

Where had he reappeared? He could no longer see the marks...

*Pop*

“Keep going!”

*Pop*

“KEEP GOING!”

*Pop*

Where was he?

*Pop*

He needed to stop.

*Pop*

God he needed to stop.

*Pop*

He couldn't keep going like this.

*Pop*

“NUMBER 5!!”

He wasn’t at one of the markers - he was in the middle of the room, standing in front of his father and Pogo. 

He couldn’t move. 

Everything was swirling around him at a nauseating speed. He swayed precariously on his feet. 

“Number 5! Get back to the exercise!”

“‘M sorry Sir…” Five muttered. And then suddenly he was falling backwards. There was a clattering sound as the stopwatch fell from Pogo’s hand. Five’s body collided with the ape’s torso and he felt Pogo's bristley arms clutch hold of him. 

“NUMBER 5!”

He was aware of his body being lowered to the ground. Five fought to keep conscious. Everything was spinning. He could feel his eyelids fluttering, eyes rolling….

“Number 5!”

Pogo was softly tapping his cheek. His father’s voice was vibrating in his ears. He couldn’t see...

“Listen to me!”

Pogo’s gentle hand was replaced and suddenly Hargreaves cold gloved hand was pinching Five’s face, pulling his head to look directly at him. 

Five blinked, once, twice - tried to focus. His father’s monocle flashed into his vision. 

“This is not acceptable Number 5!” The grip on Five’s chin was strong, fingers digging into his cheeks. 

“Your siblings rely on your skills. One day your abilities may be the only thing that can save them.”

Five blinked, tried to concentrate, tried to stay conscious. 

“One day it may all rest on you. And on that day you will not have the luxury of stopping when it gets too hard.” 

Everything was fading away. His father’s face was close but Five could not see him. 

“Your failure may be their undoing Number 5. Do you understand me?”

He couldn’t think. Everything was dark.

“Number 5!”

His consciousness was slipping. 

“Number 5!”

***  
“Five!”

He could feel two fingers pressed into the pulse point on his wrist counting his heartbeat. God, it must be racing…

“Five!”

His head lolled weakly. He needed to open his eyes but at this moment it felt like a monumental task. 

Somewhere in his awareness he realised that the hand holding his wrist did not belong to Pogo.

“Five!”

He also realised that the voice was not his father's….

“FIVE!”

Five’s eyes fluttered open. 

He was on the floor. But not in the library and not in the mansion. He blinked twice trying to clear the black spots from his vision.

“Five, are you ok?”

It was Klaus speaking to him. Klaus and Diego. Both kneeling down next to him as he lay on his back. Above them Allison and Luther stood, looking down in concern. Luther was still holding the unconscious Vanya. 

“Are you alright?” Klaus repeated.

Five nodded.

They were all here.They were all ok. 

He hadn’t failed.

**Author's Note:**

> I figured I should post this before the new series comes out and undoes my head-canon. 
> 
> Please be gentle with me. I needed some online validation and it was a decision between posting this or uploading a selfie with the hastag #quarantinequeen on instagram.


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